Carteret Man Sentenced To 30 Years For Murder

CARTERET — A Carteret man has been sentenced to serve 30 years in a New Jersey state prison for strangling his live-in companion in their home last year, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan announced today.

Shawn Humphrey, 37, was sentenced to the term on Sept. 6 by Superior Court Judge Diane Pincus, who said the defendant must serve the full 30 years before he can be eligible for parole.

During a hearing at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick, the judge also credited Humphrey with 535 days he has already served in custody since his arrest.

In addition, the judge said the defendant will be placed on parole for five years after his release from prison.

The sentence was imposed after Humphrey pleaded guilty on June 27 to a charge of murder, admitting that he killed Dana Ciccolella, 32, during an argument on March 19, 2011.

The defendant pleaded guilty under an agreement reached with Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Neil Casey.

Humphrey was charged during an investigation by Detective Sgt. Douglas Kopin and Detective Sgt. Raymond Novak, both of the Carteret Police Department, and Investigator Adrian Villegas of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation began after family members found the victim unresponsive, and contacted a family friend, who called police on March 21, 2011.

Ciccolella, who was found in a bedroom, was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:22 p.m. An autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she had been strangled.

Humphrey was arrested in Penn Station in New York City at about 8:15 p.m. on March 22, 2011, and later was returned to New Jersey, where he has remained in custody.